Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Acting President of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez hold bilateral talks at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi
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Venezuelan Acting-President Delcy Rodríguez and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks on Thursday focused on forging a stronger energy partnership while expanding ties beyond oil to several sectors such as critical minerals, mining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and automobiles.Rodríguez emphasised that Venezuela views India as a “preferred energy partner” due to the size of the Indian economy and its long-term stability as a buyer, Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a media briefing.The Indian PM said that India looked forward to building this relationship across both upstream and downstream activities.“Venezuela has already emerged as the third-largest crude oil supplier this month... There exists a perfect complementarity for India and Venezuela to work in the energy sector,” Tandon said.The five-day visit is both politically and economically important occurring just five months after US forces detained former President Nicolás Maduro. Facing West Asia supply disruptions, India is actively diversifying crude sources, while Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, needs a reliable buyer. To explore collaborations, the Venezuelan delegation will visit several industrial sites, which may include Reliance Industries’ refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat.Economic partnershipThe Modi-Rodriguez discussions also went into broadening the overall bilateral economic partnership to other areas.“Venezuela is a resource-rich country. It’s not just about critical minerals; it has also gold, diamonds, and other materials. So, mining is very much there. In fact, there was a discussion on how to assess the potential reserves that they have, or whether we could cooperate in that area,” he said.During the talks, India raised the issue of Venezuela owing over $500 million in dividends to ONGC Videsh as well as payments owed to pharmaceutical companies. “All pending issues were raised…They (the Venezuela side) are very sensitive to the issue,” Tandon stated.When asked if the recent political transition in Venezuela came up for discussion, Tandon highlighted the close relations shared with the country. “We are working with a government that is friendly, that wants a partnership with India. We want to reciprocate that. Venezuela has traditionally been a very close friend,” he said.Published on June 4, 2026
